The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for collecting fragments, the fragments being created from the detonation of munitions. In optional embodiments, the system may include a variety of options including the automated removal of captured fragments from sheets so as to provide for a greater ease in the analysis of collected fragments.
A necessary procedure in evaluating the performance of an explosive device includes the characterization and analysis of fragments emitted during detonation of the explosive. One area in which this characterization has become important is in the development of military explosive devices. Typically, the devices are exploded whereby fragments are generated which are projected in a variety of patterns. Often times, such tests are conducted at various Department of Defense and commercial facilities where a series of insulating panels are organized in an arena type arrangement. The emitted fragments resulting from the explosion should be captured for an analysis which creates the complication of maintaining the fragments despite there high initial speed yet not breaking the fragments into smaller pieces as a result of being captured.
The containment of the fragments must be soft enough to avoid creating additional fragments and thus changing the analysis resulting from the explosion. A technique customary in the industry involves the use of sheets of a building substrate, known as Celotex, as the material which is organized into stacks around the explosive device. Commonly commercial available sizes include about 4 ft. by 8 ft. sheets with each Celotex sheet having a thickness of about ½ inch. Generally more around 80 to 120 sheets are stacked together and secured and subsequently oriented with other stacks of Celotex to function as a capturing substrate in creating an arena around the munition to be detonated. Often times, the stacks of Celotex materials may be 2-3 stacks high forming a generally circular shape about the munition.
The munition is then detonated with the stacks of material absorbing fragments from the exploded munition. The stacks of Celotex are then subsequently disassembled and individually inspected so that the location of fragments emitting from the explosion are determined. Typically, each stack is prescribed a specific number with the individual sheets having separate indications so that a user can specifically determine the depth to which a fragment has penetrated a stack and generally in what direction a blast caused the fragments to move.
The analysis of the panels is quite laborious as an individual must measure and locate the mass of each fragment created from the explosion. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,423 issued to Ranis et al., a warhead fragmentometer is discussed where panels may be fed through a magnetometer for locating the ferrous materials of an explosion and thus allegedly provide general fragmentation characteristics of the panel. The alleged method includes counting each fragment maintained within a panel and measuring the location of each fragment within the panel so that fragmentation data can be produced for the exploded munition.
In certain situations, probes may be utilized to determine the depth of fragments so that a user may track how far penetration occurred within a bulk of materials. One may also attempt to dig out the various fragments for further study via a manual extraction process. Generally, this may include the use of a tape measure and careful note taking to maintain the precise data necessary for recording the location of the fragments on or within a panel.
What is desired is an automated fragment collection apparatus for reducing the amount of time required in collecting and analyzing fragments from an exploded munition. Indeed a combination of characteristics including a detection and removal element has been found to be advantageous in increasing the rate at which a panel may be analyzed further analysis subsequent detonation of an explosive device. It would be even further desirable to provide a system that automatically couples the location of a fragment from a munition explosion into a container with the fragment for subsequent analysis.